


Nightingale

by Bionic_Egypt



Series: Demiprince Izuku [4]
Category: Elder Scrolls, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Gen, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a Nightingale of Nocturnal, Nocturnal is only mentioned, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 08:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21491458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bionic_Egypt/pseuds/Bionic_Egypt
Summary: Who better to rescue a kidnapped student than the son of the Patroness of Thieves?
Series: Demiprince Izuku [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511006
Comments: 19
Kudos: 238





	Nightingale

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to ravenclawoutcast13 for the idea! 
> 
> So to clarify something before you begin reading, Izuku did not grow up with Bakugou in this, therefore there is no recognition or animosity between them. Also, the Skeleton Key is a magical lockpick that never breaks and can open any lock, even non-physical ones (i.e., unlock potential and skills in a person). Izuku literally just uses is to unlock doors before returning it to its holding place. Just thought I'd clear those up!

This was it. Aizawa’s worst nightmare. First villains attacked the summer camp, leaving nearly a dozen students injured, one student had been kidnapped, and now this? What was Nedzu thinking? Why were the police going along with it? Logically, he knew why. It would be a sound plan if they were able to put it into action. That didn’t change the fact Aizawa did not want to call in . . . _him_.

But here he was, standing on a rooftop in the middle of the night, when he could be looking for his missing student, waiting to see if the illusive vigilante would show his face. Mask. Whatever.

“Shouldn’t you be out searching for the villains?” a young voice said right beside him.

It was only years of practice suppressing his reactions that kept Aizawa from jumping. The owner of the voice stepped into the weak patch of light in front of him, revealing a short figure shrouded in a black cloak, hood drawn low over his head, face covered by a solid black mask. Beneath the cloak he wore a black tunic, pants, and boots. Fingerless gloves covered his hands. A pin depicting a bird cradling a full moon between its wings secured the cloak to his tunic. Aizawa was very familiar with this costume. The one wearing it had been a near-constant a thorn in his side for the last few years.

“I’m here with an offer,” Aizawa said, crossing his arms. “Nedzu wants your help to find our missing student.”

“What do I get in return?”

Here it was. The part Aizawa wished he didn’t have to say. Why did anyone think this was going to work out well? “There’s an opening in the hero course.”

The vigilante barked out a surprised laugh. “Wow, you must really want this kid back, huh? You know what, with a prize like that, how could I refuse? What’s the time limit?”

“As soon as possible.”

He nodded absentmindedly. “Well, it’s not like I had anything pressing to do anyway. I’ll go visit Tsukauchi, see what info the police have.”

Before Aizawa could say anything else, the vigilante vanished into the shadows. Damn that problem child. Damn Nightingale.

* * *

Izuku did not know his mother. That wasn’t to say he didn’t know who she was. He knew her names and her faces. He knew what it sounded like when she was angry and when she was proud. He knew how to find her and how to serve her. But he did not _know_ her. It wasn’t his fault. She was unknowable.

She went by many names, most long forgotten. The few who remembered her called her the Queen of Murk, the Empress of Shadow, the Night Mistress, Lady Luck. Those that chose to enter into her service called her Nocturnal. Worship of her was more a business transaction than any religious performance. Thieves and those that dwelled in darkness pledged their lives to her, vowing servitude upon their deaths in exchange for her blessings in life.

Izuku’s father had made the same bargain. But instead of gaining untold riches, he was given a different sort of treasure: the Daedra’s own son.

Growing up, Izuku was taught things most children weren’t. Oh sure, he learned things every other child knew, but did other children learn how to pick locks by the time they were five? Or how to step so lightly they didn’t make a sound by six? Did they learn how to tail someone for hours to find out a single piece of information? How to hide in shadows and live in the darkness?

Did other children learn how to become the Keeper of the Skeleton Key?

His father had gotten cocky. That sort of thing inevitably happened when one was blessed by Nocturnal. Some of her disciples start thinking, no, surely this is all my doing! _I’m_ the one who sneaks into places, picks those locks, tricks those heroes. It’s just a coincidence that the moon is covered by clouds when I step out of the shadows, or when a cat distracts those looking for me so I can slip away. Nocturnal isn’t the one doing anything. This is all me! It isn’t long after these thoughts start that those thinking them are caught. Nocturnal does not keep blessing those who deny her role in their success.

So when Izuku’s father was carted off to jail, damning the darkness and swearing vengeance he would never have, Izuku took to the streets. He made his home in a forgotten shrine to his mother and took the name Nightingale as he started helping those he saw that deserved it. He was swiftly labeled a vigilante by the local police, which he honestly took a bit of offense to. He was a thief, thank you, and a damn good one. The best, even.

Now here he was, sneaking through the police station, invisible to any and all prying eyes as he made his way to his favorite detective’s office. All this to save some kid who got themselves snatched by the big bad villains. Did the heroes even need his help, or did they only want to send the expendable ones on this mission? Izuku wasn’t stupid; he knew exactly who he was up against. All for One was a constant blip on his radar, one extremely dangerous point to avoid if he could. Who knew what a villain like that would do with the power of Nocturnal on his side?

A quick dig through Tsukauchi’s files and a few seconds’ riffling through his computer told Izuku all he needed to know. Kamino Ward. Warehouse. League of Villains. Bakugou Katsuki. Date and time of heroes’ assault. If Izuku hurried, he could be in and out before the heroes even got there.

* * *

When one could become the very shadows they were hiding in, sneaking into a villain base was laughably easy. It helped that the place was poorly lit, giving him ample room to move around. There weren’t even that many villains wandering the halls. If the building survived the impending firefight with the heroes, Izuku might just come back and see what they had lying around. Surely an organization as powerful as the League would have a few trinkets worth the taking?

Izuku soon made his way to the room where they were keeping the captive student. He was bound to a chair, thick gauntlets locked over his hands, presumably to keep him from using his quirk. Surrounding him were a handful of villains, all milling around and acting as though they didn’t have a care in the world.

Izuku settled into the largest shadow he could find and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Hours passed as he waited, overhearing villainous plans and listening to the same recruiting speech the leader tried giving to Bakugou. Each time he was met with a venomous denial and a warning that “as soon as I get out of these damn cuffs I’m gonna blast your fucking heads off!” Charming. Honestly, was it even worth saving him? Was a spot in a hero school really worth dragging the rabid dog through the shadows with him? It wasn’t like Izuku even truly wanted to be a hero.

Sure, helping people was nice, but he could do that _and_ steal things if he stayed like he was. Then again, forgiveness from the law was implied with the offer, and so many policemen and underground heroes ran after any whisper of Nightingale. Damn his father for ratting him out on his way to jail. If he did the job, the bonus would be so nice. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t go back to thievery after graduating. What was a lost hero license to one outside the law?

Izuku was so lost in his musing he almost failed to realize the villains had left. It was just him and Bakugou. Now was his chance. Silent as a spirit, he crept over to the bound student and quickly cupped a hand over his mouth before dropping his Shadowcloak.

“Don’t react,” he whispered, bracing his free arm around Bakugou’s chest to keep him still. “The heroes sent me to get you out of here.”

After waiting a few seconds just to make sure Bakugou wouldn’t do anything rash, Izuku let him go and pulled an ornate lockpick out of his pocket. Within seconds, the gauntlets were opened and Izuku was pulling Bakugou toward the shadows.

“What the fuck – who the hell are you?” Bakugou hissed.

Izuku’s grip on his arm tightened. “We don’t have time for introductions. Now shut up and for darkness’ sake, don’t you dare attack anyone or the Shadowcloak will fall.”

Before Bakugou could say anything else, presumably another curse or a violent but meaningless threat, Izuku pulled him into a crouch and activated the Shadowcloak, rendering them both invisible. He guided him through the shadows, skirting around any paths which may lead to the villains, before finally reaching the exit.

Izuku found himself smiling beneath his mask as they stepped into the cool night air. A few hours spend crouching in the shadows before making one of the quickest escapes he’d ever made? Who knew hero would would be so easy?

* * *

A few weeks later, after dropping off a bewildered and still very much angry Bakugou at the nearest police station (Izuku was starting to suspect anger was his base emotion), after many, many meetings with Tsukauchi and Nedzu and Eraserhead, after moving his few belongings into the newly-constructed dorms, it was time. Izuku lurked within the sparse shadows offered by Class 1-A’s homeroom, watching silently as his new classmates filed in. He took note of a few whose quirks he found particularly interesting, like the invisible girl or the one with the sentient shadow (could he hide in it? Would it let him?).

Aizawa-sensei – and wasn’t that a change, calling Eraserhead by his name – walked in and silence fell over the room. Izuku mentally applauded the man for his intimidating presence.

“Against my better judgement, we have a student joining this class,” Aizawa-sensei said. “Midoriya, you can come out now.”

Without a word, Izuku stood, dropping his Shadowcloak as he walked toward the front of the classroom. Gasps and whispered questions of “where did he come from?” and “was he there the whole time?” echoed around the room for a few seconds before Aizawa-sensei’s glare quieted them back down.

“Introduce yourself.”

HE barely managed to keep a smirk off his face. Aizawa-sensei wanted an introduction? He would give them an introduction.

“I am the Keeper of the Skeleton Key, Protector of the Twilight Sepulcher, Agent of Stealth, Nightingale of Nocturnal. You can call me Izuku.”


End file.
